


Don't Promise Me Forever

by orphan_account



Series: Posie One Shots [2]
Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Posie breakup, i miss posie, i'm sorry in advance, it might hurt, posie - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:47:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25857673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Penelope finds out something about the fate of the love of her life. She does the one thing she knows how to do... protect. But are her ways the right ones?
Relationships: Penelope Park & Josie Saltzman, Penelope Park/Josie Saltzman
Series: Posie One Shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875295
Comments: 6
Kudos: 39





	Don't Promise Me Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Posie breakdown hours! Enjoy!!!  
> Credits to @blueryturtle for posting the inspiration for this fic!

Josie snuggled closer to Penelope; her head buried on the crook of her girlfriend’s neck. She wraps her arms around the raven-haired girl, her eyes closed, and Penelope’s voice soothing her as she read a book aloud. 

“You know, this would be better if you were the one reading.” Penelope says, putting the book down, a small pout on her face. 

Josie looks up at her and squints her eyes playfully. 

“I’m the one who does the pouting in this relationship.” she says, her tone playful and light. “Plus, I love the sound of your voice. It soothes me.” she adds with a smile, pulling herself closer to Penelope. 

Penelope only watched the brunette; she was mesmerized by the girl. She wraps one arm around her, pulling her close, letting herself get lost in the moment. 

“Keep reading!” Josie whines, making Penelope chuckle. 

“You’re lucky I love you.” 

“I know.” Josie beams. 

Penelope clears her throat, picks up the book, and begins reading where she left off. 

“When the sun sets and the moon rises, no star can light up the sky, like her eyes bring light to my life. And when mountains fall and oceans dry, my world will rest upon her smile. When the birds stop singing and the days go by quiet, the only music I’ll listen to, is the sound of her beautiful, gentle voice. I have been smitten by a beauty far more than a rose, and I shall follow wherever she goes. For my heart lies in her hand and shall remain with the promise of forever.” she reads, her every word dedicated to Josie. 

The brunette pushes the book down, she sits up and meets Penelope’s eyes. 

“I don’t want any of this to end.” Josie simply says, something bothering her in the back of her mind. 

“What?” Penelope asked, confused and alarmed. What did Josie mean by that? Did she think Penelope was leaving her? The questions ran through Penelope’s mind like a train dragging her through the rails. 

“It’s just that... we live in a world where not everyone gets a happy ending. What if you and I--” 

“You and I are going to get our happy ending.” Penelope interrupts before Josie could finish her sentence. “Jojo, I know our life isn’t a fairytale, but I promise you... this, us, I am not going to let anything hurt us.” she tells the brunette, taking both her hands. “I love you Jojo... I’ll love you forever and ever and ever and ever...” she adds, making Josie laugh. 

“I don’t want you to promise me forever.” Josie tells her as her laughter dies down. “You said it yourself, our life isn’t a fairytale... just promise me that if you ever stop loving me, you’ll tell me.” she adds, bowing her head, her face resting in a pout. 

“I promise...” Penelope answers. She lifts Josie’s chin, enough for their eyes to meet. “But I can’t ever see myself not loving you.” she adds with a soft smile. 

The raven-haired girl leans in for a kiss, the brunette’s lips meeting her halfway. The kiss is chaste and sweet, they smile as they pull away, foreheads resting on each other. 

The week goes by as it usually does. Penelope picks up Josie to start their day, Penelope and Lizzie engage in some friendly banter, Penelope convinces Josie to sneak out of class, they get caught, and then they spend their free time cuddling. 

Everything was going smoothly for a couple of weeks, that was until Lizzie began having her episodes. 

Josie was rarely with Penelope, whenever she was, it was like she wasn’t there. Her mind was always with Lizzie. _Is she going to be okay? Does she need me right now? Maybe I shouldn’t be here, maybe I should be with her._ The thoughts ran through the siphoner’s mind. 

“Josie.” Penelope snapped her out of her thoughts. The raven-haired girl crossed her arms. “Did you hear a word I just said?” she asked, clearly frustrated. 

Josie looked at her girlfriend, lost. She furrowed her brows, thinking, trying to recall anything Penelope said. 

The raven-haired girl let’s out a frustrated groan. 

“I wanted to take you out on a date, obviously you’re not interested.” she said, rolling her eyes, beginning to walk away. 

“Penelope wait!” Josie said, stopping Penelope, taking her arm and turning her around. “I’m sorry.” she says, cupping Penelope’s face. “It’s just- I'm worried about Lizzie, she needs me and-” 

“And I don’t need you?” Penelope cuts her off, taking one step back as she frees herself from her girlfriend’s hands. “Josie, I get that Lizzie needs you, but you have a life too. You have friends you rarely hang out with, a girlfriend who has to try so hard to get your attention, and let’s not kid ourselves, you haven’t been taking care of your personal health since Lizzie started acting up.” she scolded, her brows furrowed and her hands unable to settle themselves. 

“She’s my sister.” Josie argued. 

“And that doesn’t make it okay for you to forget about your own life.” Penelope retorted, her voice slightly rising. 

Josie’s eyes left Penelope, she bowed her head at the tone of the girl’s voice. The raven-haired girl closed her eyes, realizing what she just did. She took a deep breath, relaxing herself. She loved Josie, more than anything in the world, but this was unacceptable. She couldn’t bear to see Josie put herself second any longer. 

“You can’t put yourself second every time Lizzie’s having a hard time...” she says calmly. She walks closer to the brunette, “I’m sorry I raised my voice... I just really love you and I hate seeing you like this.” she adds, hugging Josie. 

The brunette hugs back, she knows Penelope meant well. She loved that about her. Anytime she would forget to take care of herself, Penelope would always be there to take care of her. 

“I’m sorry too.” she says softly, her head resting on her girlfriend’s shoulder. “I’m sorry if I haven’t been as available. I promise, I’ll try harder.” she adds, pulling away slowly, giving Penelope a soft smile. 

Penelope nods softly, reciprocating the smile. 

“How about, you and I go on that date you were talking about?” Josie suggested in a lighter tone, her hands sliding down to hold Penelope’s. 

“I’d like that.” the raven-haired girl answered, nodding, a smile curling in her lips. 

“So, I’ll see you later after classes?” Josie asked playfully, her head tilting to the side. 

“Pick you up after.” Penelope answered. 

****

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Penelope got off class early. She’s been doing a lot of advanced reading with Josie, so answering quizzes was a piece of cake to her. She went back to her room, hoping to get herself freshened up before her date with Josie. 

She planned out a nice evening picnic by the clearing in the woods. The stars would be out and Josie always loved the smell of the flowers. 

As Penelope fixed her outfit, a faint scratching sound caught her attention. A big leather covered book sat on her desk. She hesitated, but out of curiosity, she opened it. 

_Lizzie’s losing control of her magic. Each and every episode makes her more dangerous. If this continues, I’m afraid Josie might lose the merge._

Penelope furrowed her brows as she read. _Merge?_ She asked herself. She continued reading the entry. 

_Caroline leaving makes things worse. Josie has decided to spend all her time taking care of Lizzie. If anything, she might even let Lizzie win the merge... I don’t know how I could ever tell them this. Tell them that they might lose each other someday._

Penelope shut the book as soon as she read the last sentence. _What’s the merge? What does it have to do with Josie?_ Penelope asked herself. 

Carrying those thoughts with her, she went to pick Josie up from class. She carried the picnic basket with her and a worried look in her face. 

“Hey,” Josie greeted her. “You okay?” she asked, noticing Penelope’s facial expression. 

Penelope shook her head, brushing the thoughts off. 

“Yeah,” she shrugged. “I was just- nothing, it’s nothing. You ready to go?” she asked, a smile on her face. 

Josie curled her arm around Penelope’s and they were off. 

****

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Josie chuckled as Penelope stuffed her face with a burger. 

“See! I told you I could do it!” Penelope said springing up, making Josie chuckle even more. 

“Sit down.” Josie said through her chuckle. “I missed this.” she added, a sweet smile on her face. 

“Well if you hadn’t been too caught up in Lizzie,” Penelope began as she sat back down and swallowed the burger. “Then you wouldn’t have to miss it.” she finishes her sentence. 

“I miss you every minute of every day.” the brunette replies, leaning in to kiss Penelope. 

“Woah, woah.” Penelope said, raising her hands up, stopping Josie. 

The brunette gave her a confused look. 

“What do you think you’re doing? You can’t kiss me after I just shoved a burger in my mouth. I have burger breath!” Penelope reasoned, her face looking like she was actually serious. 

Josie bit her lip, trying not to let out a laugh. 

“I don’t really care if you have burger breath, I just want to kiss you.” she said, her lips turning into a pout. 

“Oh no, no. That whole pouty thing doesn’t work on me anymore.” Penelope said, shaking her head. 

Josie pouted even more; she tilted her lips to the side knowing how much Penelope finds it cute. 

The raven-haired girl crinkles her nose. 

“Ugh, come here.” she says, defeated. She crawls closer to Josie, her hand cupping Josie’s cheek as they kissed. 

Josie kisses back, smiling, knowing that Penelope is hers. Her hands find their way to Penelope’s neck, she pulls her closer, deepening the kiss. 

A soft moan escapes Penelope’s lips, she laces their fingers and pushes Josie down on the blanket, lips still connected. She leaves a trail of kisses on Josie’s neck, leaving marks and bruises. 

“Pen... I- I think we need to-” a moan escapes Josie as Penelope’s hand find their way to her thighs. “I- I think we need to stop.” she finally says, panting. She whimpered when Penelope’s lips lost contact with her skin. 

“Is everything okay?” the raven-haired girl asked as she pulled away. 

“Yes, of course yes, it’s just that...” she answers, sitting up. “It’s almost curfew and I don’t want to get caught like the last time.” she adds, a blush forming in her cheeks. 

Penelope chuckles at the memory. 

“Okay, I admit, last time was totally my fault.” she says, breaking out into laughter. 

“It’s not funny.” Josie lightly hits her. “My mom couldn’t look me in the eye for weeks.” she adds, laughing herself. 

The two stayed there for a long moment, laughing, smiling. 

“Alright, I’ll walk you back to your room.” Penelope says, she stood up, offering a hand out to Josie. 

“What about all this?” the brunette motions to the picnic. 

“ _Tarsos sersum._ ” Penelope says, flicking her hand and the picnic was packed up. “All done.” she tells Josie, a smug look on her face. 

“Cheater.” the siphon remarks before taking Penelope’s hand. 

****

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Penelope plopped herself onto her bed. She was exhausted from the day she’s had. She closed her eyes and began to slowly drift off to sleep. 

_I’m afraid Josie might lose the merge... I don’t know how to tell them this... they might lose each other someday..._

Her eyes shot open as the words came to mind. She sat up and buried her face in her hands. She had to find out what the merge was. She took her jacket and went out. 

It was already past curfew, so she had to be quiet. She made her way to the library, carefully, trying not to wake anyone up. As soon as she reached the library, she went straight to the Grimoire section, scanning for anything that could have _the merge_ in it. 

After a few minutes of searching and not finding anything, she went to the _Lorgadair_ and looked up the merge. A bunch of books sprung out of the shelves, Penelope quickly gathered them and set them on the table. 

She read and scanned, but every time she reached the pages where something about the merge was supposed to be, there was nothing but torn out pages. She furrowed her brows and closed the books. _Why is it so important that Josie and Lizzie couldn’t know?_ She asked herself. 

She stayed there for a moment, thinking. Then an idea struck her. 

Shee quietly made her way to the Headmaster’s Office only to find that the room was locked with a spell. 

“Must’ve put it up after the last time.” she murmured to herself. 

She pursed her lips, thinking of a spell that can counter the lock. 

“ _Patentibus._ ” she says and the door flew open. 

She dusted her hands off and made her way inside the office. 

She looked around, making her way to the bookshelf first. When none of the books looked like what she needed, she proceeded to the desk, opening the drawers, until... 

She found a brown leather-bound book with the title, _The Gemini Coven_ , in one of the drawers where Alaric kept his secret stash of bourbon. She took it out and scanned the pages. Her eyes were sharp, looking out for the word merge. She flipped through the pages, reading the notes written on them. Then she stopped. 

Her heart pounded in her chest; her eyes wide. 

_When the twins reach the age of twenty-two, the Gemini must merge._ It read. _The merge will determine which twin is stronger and is fit to lead the coven by the determination of their will power. The stronger twin will absorb its lesser twin and the Gemini shall be one._

Penelope dropped the book on the desk, she backed away, hands on her mouth. Her eyes begin to pool and the puzzle pieces come together. She closed her eyes, breath deeply, and calmed herself down. She picked the book back up, her hands slightly shaking. 

“ _E-ex... exemplum._ ” she casts and the book replicates itself on the desk. 

She returns the original copy back to where she found it and takes her replica and leaves, not even bothering to check if she made a mess. 

She raced back to her room, shutting the door behind her and spending the rest of the night reading, researching more about the merge. 

****

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Josie’s day was better than it had been recently. Lizzie didn’t need her for the most part and she had enough time to spend with Penelope before she had to get to her next class. 

She waited outside the classroom, usually she didn’t have to because Penelope would already be outside waiting for her. For about five minutes she waited, but Penelope was nowhere to be seen. 

“Hey Jo!” MG greeted. “You looking for Peez?” he asked with a big smile. 

“Yeah,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Have you seen her? I thought she was going to pick me up.” she added. 

“Peez is in the library. Been there all morning.” he told her. 

The morning bell rang and MG looked in the direction he was going, Josie had a confused look on her face. 

“Listen Jo, I gotta bounce.” he said, leaving a pat on her arm before rushing off. 

Josie made her way to the library, Penelope usually dreaded going there since Mr. Williams always called them out for being too loud, so she wondered what held Penelope up in the library enough to forget that she was meeting Josie. 

She was shocked to see Penelope’s nose buried in a book, surrounded by countless other books. 

“Good. Take her away. She’s been here all morning.” Dorian said as he passed by, noticing Josie. 

Her eyes followed him, she looked at Penelope and made her way to her. 

“Hey,” she said, sitting down beside Penelope. 

“Hey,” Penelope greeted, doing a double take when she saw Josie. “Hey!” she sprung up, shutting the book at hand. “Wh- what are you doing here?” she asked, a little panic-stricken. 

“You were supposed to pick me up, I guess you forgot.” Josie answered, looking over to the books on the table. “What’s going on?” she asked lightly. 

“Oh, uh, nothing.” Penelope said, her voice a little shaky. 

Josie watched as Penelope closed the books and piled them up. 

“It doesn’t seem like nothing.” the brunette remarked. 

“It’s nothing Jojo.” Penelope said as she carried the books, her voice almost back to normal. “Look, I’m sorry I couldn’t pick you up, but this is really important and I have to finish my reading. I’ll see you later okay?” the raven-haired girl said. 

“Oh, oka-” Penelope gave her a kiss on the cheeks and was gone before she could even finish her sentence. 

Josie’s shoulder sagged, she looked over to the desk, noticing Penelope left one of her books. 

“Coven Rituals.” she read the title aloud. She furrowed her brows. _Maybe she has a project in Magical History?_ she thought to herself. 

She took the book and left the library with the intention of giving Penelope the book later. 

****

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Hours passed and Penelope still hadn’t come to Josie. The brunette was in the kitchen, preparing a sandwich, she was going to bring it to Penelope since she’d been cooped up in her room for a while now. 

She carried the tray with food, the book with it. She made her way to the raven-haired girl’s room. She knocked using her foot and Penelope answered after a while. 

“Josie.” she said, her tone a little disappointed which stung the siphoner. 

“I brought you a snack. I thought you might be hungry after all the work you’ve been doing.” she said with a smile. 

“Oh, uh, thanks.” Penelope said, taking the tray from Josie. She placed it on her desk and Josie invited herself inside the room. 

“Wow, you seem like you’ve been very productive.” she remarked, seeing the books and notes scattered on top of the witch’s bed. 

“Uh, yeah. Like you said, been working all day.” she says coldly. 

Josie watched Penelope return to the bed, working again. She couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong, like she had done something to upset Penelope. 

“I’m sorry.” she says, making Penelope shoot her head up. 

“For what?” the witch asked, her brows furrowed. 

“For whatever I did to make you upset.” she answered, bowing her head before meeting Penelope’s eyes. 

“I’m not upset, why are you apologizing?” Penelope asked, her tone a little frustrated. 

****

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

“I just thought you were upset... you’re acting a little cold.” Josie answered. 

Penelope knew she was acting cold. She couldn’t help it, she was tired. Really tired. She had spent all night reading the book about the Gemini coven, taking in everything she could. Then as soon as the sun rose, she was back in the library, trying to find anything that could shed more light or help her new discovery. 

Josie found her that morning and she managed to get away, but now Josie was here, bringing her a snack, and apologizing, which made Penelope angry because the girl was apologizing for nothing. 

“I’m not cold, I’m tired.” she said, her eyes rolling unexpectedly. 

“Yeah well, you seem pretty upset.” Josie retorted, crossing her arms. 

“I’m not, okay? Just leave it.” she snapped. 

Josie was quiet, her arms dropped to her sides. Penelope couldn’t read her face. Was she angry? Was she upset? What was going on in her mind? 

“Fine.” Josie said. “I’ll leave you to your books.” she said, her voice dry, before walking out the room, slamming the door behind her. 

“Great.” Penelope groaned out, burying her face in her hands. 

****

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The day ended and Penelope was at the door of Josie’s room. She hesitated for a moment, but knocked nonetheless. 

“Oh, it’s you. Come to snap at my sister again?” Lizzie snarked when she answered the door. 

“I came to apologize Lizzie.” Penelope answered, not in the mood for any kind of bantering. 

Lizzie squinted at her, but stepped aside to let her in. Josie was on her bed, doing some homework. She only looked up at Penelope slightly and went back to her work. 

“I’ll go make myself some tea.” Lizzie said before leaving the room, giving the two girls some privacy. 

Penelope watched as the door closed, she turned her attention to the brunette once they were alone. 

“Jojo, I’m sorry.” she said, walking closer to Josie. 

Josie only glanced at her. 

“It was wrong for me to snap at you like that... especially when you brought me a snack. You were only trying to help make me feel better and I didn’t appreciate that. I’m sorry...” she said, sitting on the bed. 

Josie bit the inside of her cheeks, she looked up at Penelope, contemplating on whether she should just forget what happened or not. 

“It’s fine...” she said, looking back down at her homework. 

“No, it’s not.” Penelope said, taking her hand. “Please forgive me.” she pleaded. 

Josie rubbed Penelope’s hand with her thumb, she could never really stay mad at Penelope as much as she wanted to. 

“What were you working on that got you so moody?” the brunette asked. 

"It's a project... Mrs. Featherwood is making us research about covens... you know how she is with grades and I’m not exactly her favorite student..." Penelope answered, lying to Josie. 

She still wasn't sure of what the merge was except for the fact that it's something that happens to Gemini twins when they turn twenty-two. She didn't want to tell Josie without having all the answers. 

"Sorry I stressed you out... I just missed you." Josie replied, her eyes softening. 

"I missed you too Jojo." Penelope said, a small smile beginning to form in her lips. 

"Ugh, finally. I couldn't handle Josie pouting anymore." Lizzie remarked as she came in the room. 

Penelope and Josie watched as she made herself comfortable in her bed, like they weren't even there. 

"We- were you listening back there?" Penelope asked, pointing to the door. 

"Maybe..." Lizzie answered, not really paying attention to Penelope. 

"Lizzie!" Josie hissed, sending Penelope an apologetic look. 

"I was tired." she defended. "I've had a really long day, okay? So, could you please wrap this up so I can get my much-needed sleep?" she adds, pointing between Josie and Penelope before tucking herself under the covers. 

Josie rolled her eyes at her sister. She sends Penelope another apologetic look. 

"Pick me up tomorrow?" the brunette asked. 

"Promise." Penelope answered. She stood up and gave Josie a kiss on the cheek before leaving the room. 

****

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Weeks went by and everything seemed normal. Lizzie's episodes became more frequent and Josie of course was always there. Penelope kept tabs on Alaric's journal entries, finding out everything Caroline finds wherever she was. Alaric's attention became divided which worried Penelope because Josie and Lizzie already had their mom leave and now their dad was keeping a close eye on Hope Mikaelson, spending more time with her than he did with his daughter. 

Penelope tried her best of course, she tried to distract Josie as much as she could, but her girlfriend would always come running to her sister at the first sign of trouble. She was getting tired of it, especially when Lizzie took Josie for granted. 

_"I can't believe were missing the movie." Penelope said, frustrated._

_"Lizzie needed my help getting ready for her date." Josie replied, getting frustrated herself._

_The two was having more frequent arguments now, most of them because of Lizzie._

_"And what about our date?" the raven-haired girl retorted._

_"It's done okay? I'm sorry we're late, it won't happen again." the siphoner snapped._

_Penelope scoffed. Yeah right. She thought to herself._

_They drove quietly for the rest of the way, neither of them backing down._

_**Later that night.**_

_Penelope and Josie walked along the hallways, hand in hand. Their argument earlier tonight seemed like years ago. The laughed and talked about the movie, Josie being all for the cheesy romantics, while Penelope preferred the action-packed scenes. They stopped in front of the door to say their goodbyes._

_"Thank you for tonight. I really needed it." Josie said, smiling widely._

_"Stop worrying about Lizzie too much, then maybe you and I could go on more dates like this." Penelope answered playfully, her hands wrapping themselves around Josie's waist. She leaned in, her lips almost touching Josie's when-_

_"Thank god you're here!" Lizzie said, interrupting the moment, making Josie turn to her._

_Penelope dropped her head, frustrated and disappointed._

_"My date was a total disaster and I need you... now." the blonde said to Josie before yanking her sister out of Penelope's arms and shutting the door._

_Penelope stood there, motionless for a long moment. Her night was ruined..._

"And that is why I think we should throw a party tomorrow." Lizzie said, a smug look painted on her face. 

"You can throw a party, but Pen and I have plans tomorrow." Josie replied, wrapping her arm around Penelope's. Her action was enough to bring Penelope back to reality and out of her memories. "It's our one-year anniversary." Josie said, her eyes falling to Penelope lovingly. 

Penelope smiled, in response to Josie. 

"Oh, come on! You two go on dates all the time." Lizzie whined. "Help your sister set up the biggest party of the year and you two can canoodle all you want." she adds. 

"But Lizzie-" 

"Please..." the blonde begged, clasping her hands together. 

"Fine." Josie said, caving in. "One hour. That's all you get." she adds in a stern voice, pointing a finger at her sister. 

"Yay!" Lizzie bounced up and down before hugging Josie. "I'll get started on the invitations." she adds before running off. 

Penelope was quiet listening to the whole exchange. Once again Josie had put herself second and Penelope was having enough of it. She knew what she had to do. She knew it would hurt both of them, but she needed to do it in order to save Josie. It didn't matter if she ended up being hated, Josie had to start putting herself first. 

"Hey, I hope you're not mad..." Josie said, stopping Penelope from walking. 

"No, I... I totally get it. She's your sister." she answers with a weak smile. "I gotta get to class." she says, adding a little enthusiasm in her voice. 

Josie nodded and leaned in to kiss her goodbye, Penelope met her halfway. She didn’t pull away immediately, matter-of-fact, she deepened the kiss, like it was the last time their lips would ever touch. 

Once she pulled away, she flashed Josie a sad smile and went her way. 

****

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Josie carried a box filled with lights to the old mill. She had been helping Lizzie all day set up “the biggest party of the year” despite telling her sister that she’ll only help for an hour. Her anniversary date with Penelope was in a few hours and instead of pampering herself and getting ready, here she was, hanging up lights for a party she wasn’t even going to attend. 

“No, no. You’re doing it wrong.” Lizzie said, taking the lights away from her. “They should be hanging higher, not all the students are as short as your girlfriend.” she remarked, fixing the lights. 

“You know, I should be preparing for our date, right? But I’m here helping you, so could you be less of a-” 

“Then go prepare for your date.” Lizzie interrupted her, rolling her eyes. “I’m pretty sure Penelope just taking you to dinner in the clearing, so have fun stuffing your faces with fancy food while the real fun happens here.” she adds. 

“Whatever.” Josie said, rolling her eyes. She walked away, not bothering to turn back. She promised Penelope she would try to take care of herself and that’s what she was going to do. 

She took a nice lengthy shower, imagining how her evening would be. She quickly got dressed and put on some light make up. She was nervous, she didn’t know why, maybe it was because she hadn’t seen Penelope all day, but she was. It wasn’t like it was a big deal or anything, she was only celebrating her one-year anniversary with Penelope, yeah... nothing big at all. 

She took out her diary and her favorite pen, she began writing. 

****

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_One year... one year of living the best life with the best girl. I never knew that I could find anything like this, I guess I’m lucky._

Penelope held her head with one hand, bourbon in the other. She read the entry quietly, drinking the alcohol straight from the bottle. 

_I love her... more than words can say and I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lose her. I want to always be hers and no one else’s. I want to go on crazy adventures with her and see the world with her by my side. I just want her... forever._

The writing stopped and Penelope’s eyes were watering. She slammed the book shut, reading those words reminded her that she was going to break- no. She was going to shatter Josie’s heart and leave her to piece it back together herself. 

But it was all a part of her plan. She knew what she was doing. Leaving Josie for the reasons she had would make her a better person, would make her see that she deserved to be put first. 

She chugged down the bottle of bourbon, wiped her lips, and grabbed her jacket. 

“Paetexo.” she casts, before walking out the door. It was a concealing spell, hiding the smell of alcohol. She didn’t want Josie to think she was drunk when she broke up with her, which she wasn’t. 

She made her way to the clearing in the woods, it was her and Josie’s spot. She was relieved to see that the girl wasn’t there yet, she wasn’t sure if she could do it. She leaned on a tree where her and Josie had carved their names in. Tears began to roll down her cheek, her sight too much of a blur to notice that the brunette was approaching. 

“Pen?” Josie called, her voice making Penelope jump, quickly wiping off the tears. 

Josie stopped when she saw Penelope. She stared at the girl, she wasn’t dressed up, she didn’t seem happy to see Josie either. Something was wrong. 

“What ha-” 

“Where have you been?” Penelope said, her voice stern and angry. 

“I was just getting ready what-” 

“Why did it take you so long? Were you with Lizzie?” Penelope interrogated. 

“I- I was helping her but-” 

“Of course, you were.” Penelope scoffed, throwing her hands up and shaking her head. She hesitated speaking. She wasn’t ready, she couldn’t do it, she can’t break Josie’s heart. No! She had to. _Do it for her... do it to save her._ She told herself. 

“Pen I-” 

“I can’t do this anymore.” she finally said, her eyes meeting Josie’s. 

“What?” Josie said so softly you could barely hear her. 

The raven-haired girl gulped. 

“This... us... it’s not working anymore Josie. I’m tired of always waiting for you, of always coming in second to your sister.” she answered, her voice filled with hate and pain. “I don't want this anymore.” she adds in a stern tone. 

Tears began streaming down Josie’s face, she had her hand on her chest, her heart seemingly being crushed by a weight she couldn’t see. 

“Penelope...” she said through the tears. “Please don’t do this... you don’t know what you’re talking about.” she added, trying her best not to breakdown in front of the witch. 

“Josie, I know it hurts but-” 

“No! No!” she yelled, moving closer to Penelope, taking the witch’s hands into hers. “You don’t know. Please...” she begged, her voice breaking. “You- you promised... you promised me forever.” she wept. She pulled Penelope in for a hug. 

Penelope restrained herself from hugging Josie. She had to be strong, not just for her, but for the both of them. 

“Josie, you’re not listening.” she began, peeling Josie off her gently. “I. Don’t. Want this. Anymore.” she said, each word hurting her more than it’s hurting Josie. 

The brunette fell to the floor, her legs losing strength to hold her with every word Penelope said. She buried her face in her hands, sobbing. 

“I can’t lose you. I won’t lose you.” she managed to say through her tears. 

Penelope tried her best not to break, the tears, pooling in her eyes. She mustered up the courage to speak again. 

“You’ve already lost me Jojo. I’m sorry.” she said, kneeling down. “I- I...” she couldn’t say it. She couldn’t tell Josie she didn’t love her. “I made a promise to you Jojo...” she says, taking Josie’s hands off her face. “I don’t love you anymore.” she says slowly, dreading each word that came out of her mouth. 

She loved Josie, she will always love Josie, but she needs to hurt her in order for her to learn, to survive. Penelope hated herself for doing it. She would never be able to forgive herself, but at least Josie would survive. 

She gave Josie one last kiss on the forehead before getting back on her feet and leaving. The brunette stayed on the ground, crying as the raven-haired girl walked away. Penelope broke her façade as soon as her ack was turned and only Josie’s sobs could be heard. 

“I’m sorry Jojo. I love you.” she whispered to herself as she walked away.

**Author's Note:**

> Did it hurt? Tell me what you guys think of the story! Feedback is much appreciated!


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